The story behind Meghan Markle’s meaningful new necklace

(Image credit: 2019 Max Mumby/Indigo)

The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle celebrated her 40h birthday yesterday in the most compassionate way, by releasing a video in collaboration with Melissa McCarthy, asking celebrities, royal entrepreneurs to donate 40 minutes of their time to mentor women re-entering the workplace.

So far, the likes of Oprah, Princess Eugenie, Adele, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Paulson and Amanda Gorman are just some of the many activists that have signed up to the initiative, which is pretty impressive.

Charitable work aside, the Duchess looked radiant in the video she filmed from her office at home in Montecito. Wearing neutral shade sand suede heels, she looked elegant and understated, though what really caught fans' eyes were her necklaces.

The diamond and gold necklaces have a special significance, as on closer inspection, you'll notice they form star constellations. As you may have guessed, each one has a special link to her children.

The top necklace is a nod to daughter Lilibeth's astrological sign, Gemini, whilst the bottom one refers to Archie's Taurus sign.

They are by LA jeweller Logan Hollowell, who uses recycled gold and ethically sourced gemstones, a nod to Meghan's love of sustainable fashion brands.

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Gemini Constellation Necklace, $1,785 at Logan Hollowell
14k gold and diamond or white sapphire constellation necklace, with .42 total carat weight. Wear your Astrological sign or the sign of a loved one. A perfect custom gift and timeless keepsake of our celestial destiny.

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Taurus Constellation Necklace, $1,600 at Logan Hollowell
14k gold and diamond or white sapphire constellation necklace, with .40 total carat weight. Wear your Astrological sign or the sign of a loved one. A perfect custom gift and timeless keepsake of our celestial destiny.

It isn't the first time the royal has worn sentimental pieces, as she's been spotted in the past with an H necklace for her husband Harry, as well as an A for Archie.

She also owns a diamond eternity band featuring the birthstones of Harry, Archie and herself, and she will no doubt be adding an extra one for her daughter soon.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.